Under "new rules starting July 9, the FDA and USDA began to share responsibility to inspect egg manufacturers." Sherri McGarry, emergency coordinator for the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said that the new rules could have prevented the outbreak if they had been in place before July 9.
Currently, over half a billion eggs from two Iowa producers have been recalled, "the most recently on Sunday night when Moark LLC of Fontana, Calif., said it was recalling nearly 300,000 eggs, the Associated Press reported that came from one of the two Iowa farms."
According to the CDC, about 2,000 reports of illness "have been traced to salmonella between May and July, which is nearly three times the typical figure."
The Final Rule, published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2009 is titled "Prevention of Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Egg Production, Storage, and Transportation" and is available here.
Some of the highlights of the rule include:
- Shell egg producers are required to used certain Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) prevention measures including the use of monitored pullets, a biosecurity program, rodent/pest control, and clean/disinfect houses before new hens are added if an environmental or egg test was positive for SE.
- Producers must conduct egg testing for SE when an environmental test is positive for SE.
- Those who transport or hold shell eggs must comply with refrigeration requirements.
- Producers must have an SE prevention plan in writing and must maintain records documenting compliance.
- Shell egg producers must register with FDA.
FDA chief, Margaret Hamburg, said the agency needs a more "preventative approach" to food safety, according to the Associated Press. Hamburg also said that "Congress should pass pending legislation that would provide her agency with greater enforcement power." For more information on the Food Safety legislation currently awaiting approval in Congress, click here and here to read past US Ag&Food Law and Policy blog posts on the subject.
To read the Wall Street Journal story, click here.
To read the Associated Press story, click here.
Posted: 08/23/2010
